Paul’s Thorn in the Flesh, 1-10
12:1 It is necessary to go on boasting. Though it is not profitable, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.
12:2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago (whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows) was caught up to the third heaven. 12:3 And I know that this man (whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows) 12:4 was caught up into paradise and heard things too sacred to be put into words, things that a person is not permitted to speak.
I know a man – Paul is almost certainly referring to himself.
The third heaven – This seems to assume a pre-scientific view of the cosmos. As Barclay notes:
‘In the Old Testament there seems to be a threefold division of heaven into the heaven in which the birds fly, the heaven where the stars exist (often thought of as a “firmament”), and above that the heaven where God resides, referred to as “the highest heavens” (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron 2:6; 6:18; Neh 9:6; Ps 148:4)…When Paul says “the third heaven” we cannot be sure that he himself firmly believed that heaven was divided into three and only three parts, or only that he realized that his readers would understand that he meant the highest of the heavens.’ (HSB)
Not permitted to speak – It is clear that Paul refused to make his own experience the basis of his preaching. He certainly had an amazing experience on the road to Damascus: he saw a blinding light, heard a voice, was knocked to the ground, was instantly changed from being a killer of Christians to being a servant of Christ, Acts 9. But his preaching was based on an appeal to the Scriptures, Acts 17:2-3; 29:23. Even after being caught up to the third heaven, he was not allowed to speak the things he saw.
12:5 On behalf of such an individual I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except about my weaknesses. 12:6 For even if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I would be telling the truth, but I refrain from this so that no one may regard me beyond what he sees in me or what he hears from me, 12:7 even because of the extraordinary character of the revelations.
Therefore, so that I would not become arrogant, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to trouble me—so that I would not become arrogant. 12:8 I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is enough for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
A thorn in the flesh – The word most often translated ‘thorn’ may refer to any of a number of different kinds of sharp object. Garland prefers the translation ‘stake’.
The precise nature of this impediment is unknown and probably, in our present state of knowledge, unknowable. It may have been intrinsic (such as some kind of physical disability) or extrinsic (persecution, for example). See longer note.
The very fact that Paul does not clearly identify the ‘thorn’ suggests a couple of things:
Paul’s silence is probably intentional. Hafemann (following Heckel) remarks that Paul:
‘is not interested in the medical diagnosis of his weakness but in its theological origin (sent by Satan but given by God), in its cause (Paul’s great revelations), and in its purpose (to afflict Paul in order to keep him from becoming conceited).’
We are entitled to generalise about our own similar experiences. Harris comments that if Paul had been more specific about his ‘thorn’, then subsequent believers might have thought that his reflections only applied to that particular type of malady. As it is, believers with various maladies may derive challenge and comfort from his experience.
Garland agrees that this very uncertainty about the nature of Paul’s ‘thorn’ enables us to generalise about our own parallel experiences:
‘The ambiguity about what Paul’s stake in the flesh might be allows others to identify their own personal “thorns” with Paul’s and to appropriate the theological lesson. Stakes in the flesh are not good, but they also are not bad because they may convey a word from God if we are attuned to hear it. What is important to Paul is the theological word-to-the-wise that his stake in the flesh provided him. It was a constant reminder of God’s grace and God’s power working through him.’
Was given to me – The passive implies that it was given by God himself. As Keener (IVPBBC) notes:
‘As in the Old Testament (e.g., Job 1:6–2:6) and most Jewish thought, God is here sovereign even over Satan and his angels.’
A messenger of Satan to trouble me – If Paul’s ailment was physical, then, as Martin notes, in Lk 13:16 Satan is credited with responsibility for the woman who was bent over for 18 years.
Mark Seifrid notes the difficulty that many would perceive in this being described as being from God (as the passive ‘was given to me’ implies) and yet a ‘messenger of Satan’. But it is a commonplace in Scripture – though also a mystery – that God uses evil to accomplish good. The cross of Christ is the supreme example of this.
I asked the Lord three times about this, that it would depart from me – We should, to be sure ‘ask, seek and knock’ in prayer. There are, certainly, times when we ‘do not have’,because we ‘do not ask.’ But, as Blomberg (NIVAC on 1 Corinthians) drily comments:
‘John Wimber with Kevin Springer, Power Healing (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1989), 158, believes that “the most fundamental reason—why people are not healed when prayed for today” is that “we do not seek God as wholeheartedly as we should.” The Risen Lord gave Paul a diametrically opposite reason in 2 Corinthians 12:8–9.’
The thorn was given to Paul, ‘not for punishment, but for protection’:
‘Physical weakness guarded him against spiritual sickness. The worst diseases are those of the spirit: pride, conceit, arrogance, bitterness, self-seeking. They are far more damaging than physical malfunctioning’ (J.I. Packer, Laid-Back Religion, 131).
How God uses suffering for good:
‘God uses chronic pain and weakness, along with other afflictions, as his chisel for sculpting our lives. Felt weakness deepens dependence on Christ for strength each day. The weaker we feel, the harder we lean. And the harder we lean, the stronger we grow spiritually, even while our bodies waste away. To live with your “thorn” uncomplainingly – that is, sweet, patient, and free in heart to love and help others, even though every day you feel weak – is true sanctification. It is true healing for the spirit. It is a supreme victory of grace. The healing of your sinful person thus goes forward, even though the healing of your mortal body does not.’ (J. I. Packer)
Packer, again:
‘Again and again our Lord leads us into situation that are painful and difficult, and we pray – as Paul prayed regarding his thorn in the flesh – that the situation will change. We want a miracle! But instead the Lord chooses to leave things as they are and to strengthen us to cope with them, as he did with Paul, making his strength perfect in continuing human weakness.
Think of it in terms of the training of children, and you will see my point at once. If there are never any difficult situations that demand self-denial and discipline, if there are never any sustained pressures to cope with, if there are never any long-term strategies where the child must stick with an educational process, or an apprenticeship, or the practice of a skill, for many years in order to advance, there will never be any maturity of character. The children (who, of course, want life to be easy and full of fun, as children always do) will remain spoiled all their lives, because everything has been made too easy for them. The Lord does not allow that to happen in the lives of his children.’ (A Passion for Holiness, 214f)
‘At first Paul could see no benefit in his thorn in the flesh. Hardly able to “count it all joy,” he instead resented the tormenting affliction. It interfered with his busy ministry schedule and caused him to question God. Three times he pleaded for a miracle of healing. Three times his request was refused. Finally, he received the lesson that God wanted him to learn through the affliction: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
‘The physical weakness was, in fact, being used for Paul’s own benefit. The sins of spiritual pride, arrogance, and conceit represented far greater dangers, and this nagging physical weakness kept him relying on God, and not himself, for strength. When he finally saw that, Paul’s attitude moved from one of resistance to one of transforming acceptance: instead of begging God to remove the thorn, he prayed that the pain would be redeemed or transformed to his benefit.
‘Once Paul had learned this lesson, in typical fashion he began shouting it to the world, “boasting” about his weaknesses. To the Corinthians, a sophisticated audience impressed by power and physical appearance, he bragged about God’s pattern of choosing the lowly and despised people of the world to confound the wise, the weak to confound the strong. Paul had learned the lesson of the Beatitudes: poverty, affliction, sorrow, and weakness can actually be means of grace if we turn to God with a humble, dependent spirit. “For when I am weak, then I am strong,” Paul concluded. The weaker we feel, the harder we may lean.’
Yancey, Philip. Where Is God When It Hurts? (pp. 150-152). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
If God wants you to do something, he’ll make it possible for you to do it, but the grace he provides comes only with the task and cannot be stockpiled beforehand. We are dependent on him from hour to hour, and the greater our awareness of this fact, the less likely we are to faint or fail in a crisis. (Louis Cassels)
The story is told that one day Charles H. Spurgeon was riding home after a heavy day’s work, feeling weary and depressed. A verse came to his mind, “My grace is sufficient for you.” In his mind he immediately compared himself to a little fish in the Thames River, apprehensive lest drinking so many pints of the water each day he should drink it dry. Then Father Thames says to him, “Drink away, little fish. My stream is sufficient for you.” Next he thought of a little mouse in the granaries of Egypt, afraid lest its daily nibbles exhaust the supplies and cause it to starve to death. Then Joseph comes along and says “Cheer up, little mouse. My granaries are sufficient for you.” Then he thought of a man climbing some high mountain to reach its lofty summit and dreaded lest his breathing might exhaust all the oxygen in the atmosphere. The Creator booms his voice out of heaven saying, “Breathe away, oh man, and fill your lungs. My atmosphere is sufficient for you!” So lets rest in God’s wonderful grace, knowing it will be sufficient for us! (Our Sufficiency in Christ, John MacArthur p. 256.)
‘He never brings them into so low a condition that he does not leave them more cause of joy than sorrow.’ (Richard Baxter, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, 37.)
The healthiest person in the building:
‘Twice it has been my privilege to introduce quadriplegic Joni Eareckson. … Each time I have ventured to predict that her message would show her to be the healthiest person in the building – a prediction which, so far as I could judge, came true both times.’ (J.I. Packer)
Consider God’s creative power:
‘There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot from that situation create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today.’ (Bishop Handley Moule)
So then, I will boast most gladly about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may reside in me. 12:10 Therefore I am content with weaknesses, with insults, with troubles, with persecutions and difficulties for the sake of Christ, for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.
Gladly – ‘Gladly! How can this be? Why is Paul willing to embrace his thorn with gladness? Because his greatest goal in life is that Christ be magnified in his body whether by life or by death (Phil. 1:20). To see the beauty of Christ, to cherish Christ as his supreme treasure, to show Christ to the world as better than health and life—that was Paul’s joy.’ (Piper, Coronavirus and Christ)
‘God uses broken things’:
‘Broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.’ (Vance Havner)
The Signs of an Apostle, 11-21
12:11 I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. 12:12 Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds.
Fee (God’s Empowering Presence) notes how surprising v12 seems to be. But it is not an afterthought. Rather, it represents Paul turning from playing the role of a ‘fool’ to giving them some straightforward reasons why his apostleship is in no way inferior to the claimed apostleship of others (v11). He has been making this point all along:
‘He was equal to them in pedigree (2 Cor 11:22); he was their superior in terms of serving Christ (2 Cor 11:23–29); and he was at least their equal in terms of ecstatic experiences (2 Cor 12:1–5).’
The signs of an apostle – lit. ‘the signs (σημείον, ‘sign’) of an apostle’. NIV: ‘The things that mark an apostle.’ Either (a) miracles; or (b) the life and ministry of an apostle. Or, perhaps, some blending of the two. See longer note, below.
Signs and wonders and powerful deeds – ‘signs and wonders, i.e., powerful deeds’ (Siefrid).
But Paul himself was not healed:
‘Of course, these miracles did not cure Paul of his own physical infirmity, which perhaps left him open to the opponents’ cynical retort, “Physician, heal yourself!” (cf. Luke 4:23, a common proverb in antiquity).’ (Scott)
12:13 For how were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this injustice! 12:14 Look, for the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you, because I do not want your possessions, but you. For children should not have to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 12:15 Now I will most gladly spend and be spent for your lives! If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 12:16 But be that as it may, I have not burdened you. Yet because I was a crafty person, I took you in by deceit! 12:17 I have not taken advantage of you through anyone I have sent to you, have I?
12:18 I urged Titus to visit you and I sent our brother along with him. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not conduct ourselves in the same spirit? Did we not behave in the same way? 12:19 Have you been thinking all this time that we have been defending ourselves to you? We are speaking in Christ before God, and everything we do, dear friends, is to build you up.
12:20 For I am afraid that somehow when I come I will not find you what I wish, and you will find me not what you wish. I am afraid that somehow there may be quarreling, jealousy, intense anger, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance, and disorder. 12:21 I am afraid that when I come again, my God may humiliate me before you, and I will grieve for many of those who previously sinned and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and licentiousness that they have practiced.